A Guide to Securing Mobile Devices with FortiClient
The Mobile-First Security Imperative
In an increasingly mobile-first world, smartphones and tablets have become essential tools for productivity. Employees now access sensitive corporate data, respond to emails, and collaborate on projects from their mobile devices as often as they do from their laptops. This shift presents a significant security challenge. Mobile devices are frequently connected to untrusted networks, are more susceptible to physical theft, and often lack the robust security controls of their desktop counterparts. Extending the corporate security perimeter to these devices is not just an option; it's an imperative. The FortiClient VPN for iOS and Android provides a powerful solution to this challenge, ensuring that your data remains secure, no matter where your employees are working from.
Consistent Security Across All Platforms
One of the greatest strengths of the Fortinet VPN ecosystem is its consistency. The FortiClient mobile apps for iOS and Android are not stripped-down versions of the desktop client; they are full-featured security agents designed to integrate seamlessly into the Fortinet Security Fabric. This means you can apply the same granular security policies, authentication methods, and access controls to your mobile users as you do to your desktop users. Whether an employee is on their corporate laptop or their personal smartphone, you can be confident that they are subject to the same high standard of security.
This consistency simplifies administration immensely. Instead of managing disparate security solutions for different platforms, IT teams can manage all endpoints through a single pane of glass: the FortiClient Enterprise Management Server (EMS). Policies can be created once and deployed universally, ensuring that a user's security posture remains consistent as they move between their devices. This unified approach is a core tenet of the forticlient philosophy.
Key Features for Mobile Security
The mobile versions of FortiClient are packed with features specifically designed to address the unique challenges of mobile security. The client supports both SSL-VPN and IPsec, providing the flexibility to ensure a reliable connection in any network environment. Crucially, it fully supports two-factor authentication with FortiToken, adding a vital layer of security to protect against credential theft—a particularly high risk for mobile devices.
Furthermore, the FortiClient VPN integrates with the device's operating system to provide an "always-on" VPN capability. This feature can be configured to automatically establish a secure tunnel whenever the device is connected to the internet, ensuring that the user is always protected without requiring any manual intervention. For organisations with strict compliance requirements, this is an essential feature. The client also includes a web filter, which extends the corporate web security policy to the mobile device, blocking access to malicious websites and inappropriate content even when the user is not connected to the VPN. This makes the Fortinet VPN a comprehensive mobile threat defence solution.
Deployment and Management Best Practices
Deploying the forticlient to a fleet of mobile devices is streamlined through FortiClient EMS. Administrators can create provisioning profiles that are sent to users via email or QR code, simplifying the setup process. For larger organisations, integration with Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions allows for zero-touch deployment, where the client and its configuration are automatically pushed to enrolled devices. You can get started with the fortinet vpn download from official app stores.
Once deployed, ongoing management is critical. It is a best practice to configure ZTNA policies that check the health of the mobile device before granting access. This includes checking for signs of jailbreaking or rooting, ensuring the device has a passcode set, and verifying that the operating system is up-to-date. By enforcing these mobile-specific security postures, you can significantly reduce the risk of a compromised mobile device becoming a gateway into your corporate network. The FortiClient VPN provides all the tools necessary to build and enforce a robust mobile security strategy, making it an indispensable tool for the modern enterprise.